We’re not asking people to do any more than have the common decency to carry a tissue or handkerchief and to use it when they need to. Why some people feel the need to launch their bodily fluids onto the paths and pavements everyone else uses is quite beyond me.

We looked at the situation and took account of the approach of some other councils who have gone down the path of seeking a new bylaw from the Secretary of State.

However this is both time-consuming and bogged down in bureaucracy. Some councils are almost three years down the line of the process and still they find themselves tied up in red tape while louts spit on their streets with impunity.

We decided we needed to act fast and decisively and so following close scrutiny of the laws around littering we decided it was perfectly reasonable to class spit as waste and therefore punishable by on-the-spot fines.

Our Enforcement Officers already hand out £80 fines to people caught dropping litter, not clearing up after their dog or throwing their cigarette butts into the street, so why not spitting?

Well, the truth is no one could answer that question and the Defra guidance was not only vague on the definition of litter, but expressly made the point that it was for the courts to decide.

Last Friday for the first time two cases were put up in front of magistrates and I was naturally delighted that they agreed with us that spit could be classified as waste and our enforcement was legal and appropriate.

When we first launched this initiative at the beginning of the year a lot of other councils asked us about our approach and were interested to see how things went should a case ever go to court.

I expect many will now be considering following our lead and extending the remit of their own Enforcement Officers so that they too start fining people for spitting on the streets of their boroughs.

Certainly in my borough the message is very clear. To use the title of our campaign – Don’t Mess with Waltham Forest!

Councillor Clyde Loakes is the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment at Waltham Forest council